Fuse cabinet or panel board



Nov. 18, 193.0. F. T. WHEELER FUSE CABINET 4QR PANEL BOARD Filed March25, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR NG T18, 193@v FET. WHEELER 1,732,019

FUSE CABINET 0R PANEL BOARD Filed March 25, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2'lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll II Il 1 I "llm'lllllllllllmlil lllll 1 4 uinmnmlw'nu" munlllili 32 .unmmmn 23 nl L 22 25 Frank T. 1er,

22 g w Y ro EY INVENTOR Nov. 1 8, :1930.

P'USE-CABINET OR PANEL BOARD F. T. WHEELER Filed March 25; 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 3 11111.vlfflllll//ll//lllrlzw/A W eele'r,

INVENTOR Patented Nov. 18, 1930 UNITED lSTATES PATENT oFFlcE FRANK T.WHEELER, OF PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 THE TRUMBULL ELECTRICMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT, A COR- PORATION OFCONNECTICUT FUSE CABINET 0R PANEL BOARD Application led March 25, 1926.Serial No. 97,196.

My invention relates particularly to a panel board construction arrangedfor fuses only, although it may be used in connection with circuitscontrolled by switches either separate from the cabinet or connectedtherewith. One object is to provide a built-up series of fuse units inwhich any one or more of the units may be removed or replaced withoutdisturbing any other units.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the fuse units maybe secured to the box and to the bus-bars entirely from the front of thebox. i

Another object is to provide a co-related construction of fuse units andbus-bars in which the bus-bars are secured to the fuse units and thefuse units are securedto the bus-bars in such a manner that the unitsform the sole support for the bus-bars and only two of the units need besecured to the box to support thev entire fuse unit and bus-barconstruction. Y

Another object is to provide a dead front construction in which all ofthe wire connections are entirely enclosed and in which the fuse unitsare so designed that the cover plate may be provided with a separatehole or opening to conform to each separate fuse unit. Sucha cover ismuch stronger and preferable to one having a single large hole to takein all of the fuse units.

Another object is to provide'A a fuse unit with an insulating basehaving grooves to house and insulate the bus-bars and having anextension at one side to co-operate with an adjacent unit to form aninsulated chan;

nel for the circuit wires.

carrying parts are adequately spaced andprotected and in which provisionis made for convenient testing without dismantling an part of theconstruction.

Fig; 1 is a front view of a cabinet construction embodying my invention,the door being open and one corner broken away to show inner details.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, the cover being closed.

Figr is a cross sectional View looking upwardly. f

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a corner of the cabinet.

Fig. 5 is a front View of one of the insulating units.

Fig. 6 is a side View of the same.

Fig. 7 is an end view ofthe same.

Fig. 8 is a rear view of. the same.

Fig. 9 is a cross section on the plane of the line 9 9 of Fig. 5 andshowing one of the bus bars.

Fig. 10 is a cross section on the plane of the line 10-10 of Fig. 5showing afuse plug socket and bus bar.

Figs. 11 and 12 are detail views of circuit terminals.

Fig. 13y shows the bus-bars with two of the fuse units.

Fig. 14 shows the inner cover or face plate.

Fig. 15 is a front view of another form of.

fuse unit body.

Fig. 16 is a sectional View showing the unit of Fig. 15 secured to thebox.

What I have termed a fuse unit consists of an insulating body 14 formedof porcelain or other suitable material and having one or centercontacts 16 and provided with terminals such as 17 and 18. The body 14is so constructed that it may be made conveniently by simple pressingmechanism and preferably not requiring any side draw plungers. Therecess 19 for the plug socket and the recesses 20 and 21 for theterminals 17 and 18 all open toward the front. The recesses 22, 23 and24 for the bus bars 25, 26 and 27 all open from the back. The rearrecesses 22 and 23 respectively intersect the socket recesses 19, 19 sothat theterminals 17 may be inserted from the opposite corners. The fuseunits are connected to the bus bars 25 and 27 by the center contactscrews 16 and the binding screws 28 respectively.

These fuse units are constructed so as to be readily mounted in acabinet or panel more plug sockets with'screw shells 15 and lUU boardbox 30 in .which they are adapted to be secured by screws 31 which maypass through ears 32 at the o posite sides.

The box may be provi ed with the front frame or flange 33 having a door34 with suitable latch mechanism 35.' F or convenience in constructionand assembly the frame 33 is secured in place by a series oi screws 36which pass through the frame into brackets 37 which are welded orriveted to the end walls of the box. rlhese same brackets have lugs 38which serve as supports for a cover plate 39 which issecured in place byscrews such as 40. rIhe cover plate 39 is provided with openings 39',the edges of which t the bosses 41 on the front faces of the insulatingmembers 14 so that the cover plate is interr-locked with the front endsof the members 14 thus tending to brace them and cooperate with the rearwall of the box to form a structure which is rigid although made ofcomparatively thin metal.

For convenience in assembling the parts the cover plate 39 may` have keyhole shaped slots 42 at one end, for instance the lower` end, so as topermit the cover plate 39 to be readily removed by taking out the upperscrews'40 and loosening the lower screws but without removing thelatter. l

The box is provided with conduit connections or knock-outs to facilitatethe necessary connections. For instance the line circuit may beintroduced through the conduit 50 from the bottom. It will be noted thatI have arranged the terminals of the center bus bar 27 on a considerablyhigher plane than the terminals of the bus bars 25 and 26 so as toseparate the terminals of opposite polarities and keep the wires a art.For similar' reasons it will be seen t at I have mounted the terminalmembers 17 and 18 on different planes so that the wires connected tothem will he separated a maximum distance.

vThe insulating bodies 14 of the fuse units are so constructed that whentwo or more are assembled there' will be between them channels 43 toaccommodate the wires leading from the sides. The box` is alsopreferably provided with knock outs or inlet openin s 44 arrangedpreferably opposite the enfgls of these channels 43.

When the parts are assembled and in use in the ordinary manner it isfrequently de sii-able to be able to test the apparatus to seeieVerything is in proper electrical condition. I therefore provide testopenings or passages such as 45 and 46 arranged'directly in linerespectively with parts o the terminals 17 and the bus bar 27 so that awire or small tool may be inserted for the purpose of making a temporaryelectrical connection without disturbing any vof the other parts at theapparatus. For this purpose it is simply necessary to open the door 34and meaoia This allows for spacing the units some distance apart toallow for variations in the unit i bases.

'Some or all ofthe fuse units may be made without lugs (such as 32-32')as shown in Figs. 15 and 16. In this case the units would be supportedby the screws (not shown) corresponding to 16l which screw into the busbars 25 and 26. yEach fuse unit may be secured to the box by a singlescrew 47 in a hole 48. This screw may pass freely through bus bar 27 andclear the bar electrically although the bus bar and the box are bothusuallv grounded. l

In the form shown in Figs. 15 and 16 I prefer to have only twosupporting feet such as 32 for each unit, one on each side of the centerso that when the securing screw is tightened it will draw the unitevenly to its seat and obviate the breakage which would result if a baselike Figs. 5 and 6 should be secured to the box by a single centralscrew.

In place of the test hole 45 I may employ a hole or groove 49 to permitthe insertion of a wire or test point alongside of the screw shell 15.

The drawings show a construction adapted particularly to a three-to-twowire circuit with a. single fuse in each load circuit but un equalnumber oi' two-wire circuits may be provided for by merely connectingthe two outside bus-bars. Obviously other wiring combinations arepossible in this construction.

/The drawings show a single bus-bar in each leg of the circuit andextending through the slots in the fuse units but, obviously, in a panelhaving a large number of` umts, the construction permits the using of amuch heavier bus bar or two or more thinner busbars secured together bythe screws which secure the units to the bus bars.

I claim:

- 1. A panel board unit including a base of insulating material havingchannels in the back to receive and to cover co-operating bus bars, fusecontacts mounted on said base each includinw a terminal at one edge ofeach end of the base, a shoulder on said base between said terminalsandat a higher plane than said terminals and-a bus bar terminal on saidshoulder, the said shoulder co-operating with one side of a similar unitto form llo a channel for wires between the fuse receptacle and the saidsimilar unit.

2. A panel board fuse unit including an insulating base, appurtenantfuse contacts mounted on said base including awire receiving terminalnear each end of said base, said base having transverse channels toreceive and to cover co-operating bus bars, a shoulder at oneside ofsaid base and a bus bar'terminal .having a ledge along one side andwalls projecting therefrom to form a pair of sockets extending beyondsaid ledge, fuse plug contacts in said sockets, a Wire terminal on eachend of said ledge connected to one of the contacts of the adjacentsocket, bus bars at the back of said units, two of said bus bars beingconnected to the remaining contacts of the respective pair of sockets,each unit having an intermediate wire terminal connected to anintermediate bus bar, said units being mounted with the ledge of oneunit adjacent a wall of the next unit to form protecting channelsbetween the units for the conductors.

4. A panel board fuse unit including a base of insulating materialhaving three channels in the back to receive and cover co-operating busbars and having a ledge along one side to support circuit terminals atthe front, said base having a portion projecting forward beyond saidledge and having sockets opening at the front, bus'bars mounted in saidgrooves, a fuse plug center contact in the bottom of each socketconnected to a bus bar in the groove behind the base, a fuse plug screwshell'in each socket, a circuit terminal connected to the screw shell ineach socket and having a binding screw outside said socket on saidledge, the wall of each socket having a test passage extending inwardlyto permit perpendicular engagement of a .testing im-4 plement with oneof said circuit terminals between the binding screw thereof and thescrew shell of the adjacent socket, and said forwardly vprojecting partof the base having a test passage extending inwardly therethrough topermit testing contact with the central bus bar, said ledge having acircuit terminal thereon connected to the central bus bar.

5. In a panel board construction, a series of units each comprising anelongated insulating base having walls projecting therefrom to form apair of sockets, a fuse plug shellcontact and a center contact in eachsocket, a wire terminal at each end of each base connected to the shellcontact of the adjacent socket, bus

bars at the back of said units, two of said bus bars being connected tothe center contacts of the respective pairs of sockets, each unit havingan intermediate wire terminal connected to an intermediate bus bar, saidunits being mounted with spaces between the projecting fuse sockets ofadjacent units to form channels between the units for locating andprotecting the conductors.

6. A panel board unit including an insulating base, metallic fusesockets and appurtenant terminals therefor mounted on said base, saidbase having a projecting portion to surround and protect said fusesockets and a shoulder around the outer edges of said projectingportion, a cover plate having an opening fitting on said shoulder andsaid base having test passages extending through the projecting portionof said base to permit testing contact with the terminals of said fusesockets behind said cover plate and without removing or touching saidcover plate.

7. A panel board construction comprising three parallel bus bars and aplurality of panel board units attached to the front thereof, each ofsaid units having an linsulating base with two fuse receptacles at thefront of the base and having Lcontacts connected respectively to the twoouter bus bars, each base having a ledge. along one side of less heightthan the fuse receptacles, and circuit terminals mounted on the ledgeand connected respectively to the remaining contact-s of the fusereceptacles and to the third bus bar, said panel board units beingarranged adj af cent each other on the bus bars whereby the ledges andthe sides of the fuse receptacles of adjacent units constituteprotecting channels for conductor wires leading to said ter-

